Aeroplane.



, T. 0-. STARR.

.A'BBQPLANE. AIPLIOATION TILED FEB-5,1912.

Pat ented Nov. 26, 1912.

wane 35% I Thos. C'SZarr. Qg MQQAxDM V 1 @bjtomwa companying drawings,and to the characters T 0 all whom it may concern:

partof this application.

aeroplanes of all kinds, the object of the inwhich control can bemaintained without THOMAS C. STARR, OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

' AEROPLA-NE.

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. Srann, a citizen of the United States,residing at Stockton, in the county of San Joaquin, State of California,have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes; and I'do declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the acofreference marked thereon, which form a This invention reltes toimprovementsin vention being to produce such an aeroplane as is designedto be stable in-itself without the necessity of the use of auxiliaryappliances and also one in which the equilibrium can be controlled bythe motion of the aviators body as is done in skating or the like thenecessity of using outrigging elevating planes, ailerons, rudders orsurface warping of any kind or character.

A further object of the invention is to produce an aeroplane capableofbeing propelled by hand after the n'mtor is stopped and which can alsobe permitted to alight perpendicularly without injury to the operator,which alighting means consists of wings capable of being tmeratedin amanner similar to the operation of the wings of a bird. This same wingmechanism is also. designed to permit of the aeroplane being thrown outof balance in any direction and anre may be changed to'conform to thevarying changes of atmospheric pressure and other conditions.

A further object of the invention is to produce a. simple andinexpensive device and yet one which will be'exceedingly t fcctive forthe purposes for which it is designed. t These objects-l accomplish bymeans of t such structure and relative ar angement of l the parts aswill fully appear by a perusal l of the following specification andclaim. i In the drawings similar characters of refl erence indicatecorresponding parts in the 1 several views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the com- I Specification of LettersPatents P tented Nov. 26,l1912. Application filed "February 5, 1912.Serial No. 675,660, F

plete mechanism. -Fig. Z'is a front elevation of the same, Fig. 3 is aperspective view of a running gear of the machine Fig. t is a detached.View ofa lifting mechanism. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a runninggear.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference of thedrawings, I first provide a front supporting frame consisting of abottom cross bar 1 andan upper cross barQ, there beingvertical bracemembers 3 interposed between said momhers 1 and 2. Said members 1. and2-also have end supporting rods 4 between whit-h are mounted runnerwheels An arched bar (5 is bolted to the member 2 by means of bolts 7projecting through slots .8 in. The men'lbers 1. 2 and 6 are said bar(3. made of spring material such as hickory or light metal materialwhich willpermit of the same springing lightly up or down as showninFig. as the-aviator alights on the ground which will save both theoperator and the motor mechanisn'i from receiving the full force of the'heavy jolt. or jar as the aeroplane drops on the ground. The arched bar(3 and its sliding connection 78 with the member acts as a check toprevent this resilient structure from having too great a movement oneway or the other. The engine frame which consists of lower members 9 andupper members 10 provided with cross bars 11 is connected with themember (5 and provided at its forward end with blocks 12 and its rearend is-ronuectcd with a frame 13 being mounted on runner wheels 14.Secured to the said engine frame is an engine or motor 15 which drii'esthe propeller 1G by means of the usual connection. Mounted on saidengine frame a pair of slotted ails 17 in which are slidable flanges 18of an aviator's seat 19. Formed across the rear end ofthe engineplatform is an aviators platform and projectingupwardly from this aretwo guide beams 21 slidahly over each of which are two spaced collars 22connected by bars 2%, 1011 bars having"outwardly projecting levers orhandles 24L. j 4

The numeral 25 designates rubber springs secured to the members 23 asshown .in Fig. 4. Secured on the upper end of the members 23 is a planecomprising bottom members 26 and top members 2t and intermediate bracemembers 28 and 29, the said top members being covered With-suitablematerial 30'. This plane member just described is connected by hingedrods 31 with members 32 shaped in any suitable manner like the wings ofa bird which members 32 are hinged at 33 to the engine frame and alsoprovided with rubber springs 34 connected between said members 32 andthe member 2 as at 35.

The numeral 36 designates brace rods projecting backwardly and connectedto the aviators platform and provided with auxiliary brace rods 37 and38 which project inw'ardly to the members 4 to keep them ri 'd under allconditions.

he numeral 39 designates cables connected with the plane which isconnected with the rods 23 and project thence under pulleys 40 to apoint within reach of the seat 19.

In practice the springs 25 and 34: may be made of rubber as described orsteel or com pressed air structure may be used but in any event thetension of such springs is suflicient so that when the machine is in theair the entire weight of the machine and of the aviator would besuflicient to counteract such tension to any extent necessary to justkeep said wings in open position. Thus when the machine is on the groundthese springs would pull the wings toward closed posit-ion and thenafter the motor is started the air rushing under the wings would liftagainst the springs with increaslng power until the aeroplane left theground at which point as will be readily seen the spring pressure andthe air pressure would be about; equalized and hence it would take httlepower to raise or lower the wings. This raising and lowering would beaccomplished by means of the operation of the handles 24 or by thecables 39 which raise or lower the plane which is connected to the wingsby arod 31. Owing to the evenly balanced condition of the wings 32 whenthe aeroplane is in the air but a slight movement of the hand on themembers 24 or 39 will result in moving the wings up or down as will bedescribed. Therear tips of the wings 32 and member 30 are flexible likea fishs fin and hence the up or down motion of the said wings tends todrive said machine forward. Since the spring power is merely suflicientto bring the wings down when the machine is in the air and since saidsprings are extended under the same condition with respect to leverageas that required to bring the wings down or lift the entire machine thiscauses the entire weight of the machine to rest on the air rushing underit and hence the balance of the power to be supplied by theaviator tomove the wings downward and lift the entire machine and cause it to movethrough the air would be exerted as described, by a leverage representedby the stroke of the center of the wings and the stroke of the aviatorshand which of course of the machine.

would vary according to the different builds The ratio between thenecessary pressure against the wings 32' when the machine is in the airand the leverage to be furnishedby the aviator to force the wingsdownwardly would be a ratio of 2 to 3 respectively and hence if, itrequired twenty pounds pressure to force the wings downward the aviatorwould have to exert through the leverage mechanism described thirtypounds of pressure to'bring the wings down to lift the entire machine.This same relation would be maintained throughout regardless of what theentire machine'together with its cargo might weigh. Thus.

it'will be seen the weight of the aeroplane when in the air is whatcauses the wings which are the balancing means to be extended and wholepoint ofmy invention, to-wit, the using of the weight of the aeroplaneand all it contains to furnish the necessary power which aids it inlifting itself. It must not be inferred from this statement however thata motor is rendered unnecessary as it is a necessary feature to drivethe propeller to in this structure lies the,

drive the air under the wings 32 to raise the aeroplane in the air, butwhen in the air the structujfe provided for the aviator to raise andlower the wings would then be sufficient to drive the same upward andforward by the operation of such wings.

The sliding seat 19 enables the operator to gain a long stroke on thecables 39 in a manner similar as is done in racing shell boat. Also suchsliding seat enables the operator to change the center of gravity incase of a backward or forward tip of the aeroplane.

In order to turn-the aeroplane to the right or left the aviator throwsthe weight of his body to the right or left which increases the drag onthat side and decreases the supporting surface in the opposite side. Byelevating the wings 32, this effect can be more pronounced and the turnmade shorter. Similarly a change in the center of gravity makes itimpossible to upset the machine.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I haveproduced such a device as substantially fulfils the object of theinvention as set forth herein.

WVhile this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure fr'om the spirit ofthe prising a "running frame, another frame carried bysaid runningframe, wings hinged to said last named frame, resllient means fixed tosald wings and to said first named frame, ertical guides on said secondnamed In testimony whereof I affix my signaframe, a plane movablevertically on said ture in presence of two wltnesses. guides, meansflexibly connecting said plane with said Wings and means for raising andTHOMAS STARR 5 lowering said plane and a resilient means Witnesses:

fixed to "said plane and to said vertical STEPHEN N.BLEWET1,

guides, as described. CLARENCE SMITH.

